8. Family
8. Family
A small black pegasus jumped off a cloud, opening his wings. He could not fly, though, and he plummeted towards the ground until a larger pegasus caught him.
“You almost had it this time, Slant.”
“Do I have to keep trying? What if I get hurt?”
“Slant, I’m your father, and as long as I’m here I won’t let anything hurt you."
Rose headed out from her home with Granite, leaving the rest of the group behind.
“So, Fluttershy,” Applejack said turning to look at the pink-haired mare. “You’re really not worried about her?”
Fluttershy gave the question a moment’s thought.
“Are you going to follow her on her date regardless of what I say?” she responded.
“Pretty much.”
“Then no, I’m not worried.”
Applejack then turned to Rainbow Dash.
“How about it, Rainbow, want to tag along?”
“You read my mind.”
And so the two friends set out to follow Rose.
For the most part, following them had been a fairly easy affair. The two ponies were distracted enough with each other, so they did not notice the orange mare or the cyan pegasus watching them from a slight distance. The hardest part of this was keeping an eye on them without intruding on their privacy. This had been easy enough at the restaurant when they had been eating in a room full of ponies. It was different when it was just the two ponies walking alone in the park.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash felt wrong spying through something so intimate. Rose and Granite were not doing anything weird or sensual, but it was still their moment to have in the privacy of night. As such, Applejack stayed hidden in an area of the park while Rainbow hovered on a cloud. Neither could see the couple, but if there was trouble, they would be able to hear it.
Eventually Rainbow spotted the two ponies heading towards a house in the outskirts of town. She signaled to Applejack and the two followed, watching as the two ponies they were following went indoors.
The two mares did not know what to do at this point, so they went to the side of the house to think. They could not really hear anything going on, so they were just about to go home when there was a loud thump against the wall they were sitting by.
“Did you hear that?” whispered Applejack.
“I don’t know, it sounded like something big got thrown against the wall.”
They looked at each other.
“Do you think something’s wrong?” asked Rainbow.
“I don’t know; whatever got thrown sounded like it got thrown real hard, though.”
They walked to the front of the house, standing by the door. They could hear a few muffled sounds, but nothing that raised concern.
“AJ, I think you should kick the door down. You could knock it straight off its hinges,” said Rainbow Dash, rather frantically. Applejack was looking nervous.
“I don’t know, Rainbow… What if it’s a misunderstanding?” she said. “We need more reason before…”
There was another loud thump. The two looked at each other in horror.
“Rainbow, step aside.”
Rainbow Dash moved out of the way, readying herself to fly in. Applejack positioned herself, turned away from the door, and kicked it down. As Rainbow had suggested, it flew off its hinges.
Rainbow wasted no time. She flew in looking for Rose and Granite, both of whom were in the middle of the room. She noticed that Granite was about to stomp Rose’s face.
“What do you think you’re doing!” yelled Rainbow as she tackled Granite, sending him flying against a wall. Applejack rushed in. Granite pushed Rainbow off of him, landing one hit on her face. Applejack tackled him and then turned to give him a well-placed kick in the stomach. Granite grabbed her by the tail and threw her away, just as Rainbow delivered a kick to his face. She continued pounding his chest and stomach in a rage.
Applejack opened her eyes, saw Rose in front of her, and took a good look. She yelped in horror.
“Rainbow, I need you here, NOW!”
Rainbow Dash stopped attacking the unconscious stallion and rushed to her friend, eyes widening as she noticed Rose’s condition.
“Oh no.”
Rose’s mane was more red than purple now, as a small puddle of blood formed around her. Underneath her ripped dress were purple and red bruises. She seemed to have a few broken bones in her ribcage from the difficulty with which she was breathing. There were red marks on her throat. Her tear-soaked face was sporting a broken jaw. She was unconscious.
“Hey, I was visiting a friend next door and I heard a lot of noise when I came out. Is everything o… Oh my goodness! What happened!!?”
Applejack turned to the new arrival with panic on her face.
“Bon Bon, Rose is in trouble. We need help.”
A small pegasus heard crying.
He walked through the house looking for the noise, ending at his parent’s bedroom.
He walked in, seeing his parents sitting on their bed.
“Mommy, why are you crying?”
The pegasus was confused; his mom was crying but she was smiling at the same time.
“You’re going to have a baby brother, Slant.”
“I am?”
“Yes, and it’s going to be your job to care for him and protect him and guide him.”
“Like you and Dad do for me?”
“Yes son, like we do for you.”
Applejack had instructed Bon Bon to stay by Rose’s side while she and Rainbow Dash went to get help. Their plan was for Applejack to alert the ponies that needed to be alerted while Rainbow Dash went to get help from the hospital. They would send someone out to pick up Rose and take her to the hospital, which is where Applejack was telling the ponies to meet.
The whole thing had been nerve-wracking. Seeing Rose like this kept a constant stream of tears running down Bon Bon’s face, which was mixed with panic whenever Rose had stopped breathing. Applejack had mentioned something about a broken rib, which prevented Bon Bon from doing any type of CPR for fear that she might make things worse, meaning that all she could do was sit there and hope she would start breathing again; thankfully, she did.
She had sat there in fear and terror, staring at her friend. A friend that might never wake up.
She suddenly found her reservations about Rose being trans reproachful.
“This is a pony, a life,” she said. “Nopony deserves this.”
She wept freely until the paramedics arrived, stepping outside to avoid being in the way. She watched as they lifted Rose onto a low-flying cloud, speeding her away to the hospital. She was about to follow when she found herself in a deep hug.
Lyra hugged Bon Bon for what felt like an eternity, with both mares weeping softly onto the other. Eventually they broke away.
“I came over as soon as I could,” said Lyra.
“Good, saves the time of going to get you,” Bon Bon responded. “Let’s go, we need to get to the hospital.”
Lyra shook her head.
“Not yet, we need to tell the others,” she said. “You tell Derpy; I’ll tell Vinyl.”
Beep Beep… Beep Beep... Beep Beep…
“What’s that noise? Where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital, son.”
“Why?”
“You got sick… You got very sick.”
The pegasus watched as his father cried at his bedside.
“It’s ok, Dad, it’s ok.”
“Yes it is, because you’re ok.”
Vinyl was standing alongside Lyra at Rose’s bedside. Her purple shades were normally a fashion accessory and nothing more. They did not boost her confidence, they were not prescription glasses, and they were not something she hid behind. She had nothing to hide. At least normally.
This day, however, staring at her friend as she struggled against her injuries for each arduous breath, Vinyl would not take off her glasses for Princess Celestia herself. She needed something between herself and reality.
Rose was hooked up to a lot of machines. There was a tube going down her throat to help her breathe, an IV hooked up to her arm, and a lot of bandages. To Vinyl, this did not look real. No pony could survive this kind of carnage. No pony would hurt somepony else this badly.
And yet, this was real, and it scared her immensely.
The door opened, allowing Derpy and Bon Bon inside. Bon Bon went straight to Lyra’s side while Derpy stared in shock at her friend. Vinyl noticed that Derpy had not brought Dinky with her.
“Good,” she thought. “No filly should know that the world can do this to a pony.”
Shaking slightly, Vinyl approached Derpy.
“Hey, Derpy…”
“Yes Vinyl?” Derpy had tears in her eyes and Vinyl felt bad for what she was about to ask, but it needed to be done.
“Look, I know you’re just as good a friend to her as the rest of us, and I know you want to stay here as much as we all do. But I have this letter I need to send to Octavia,” Vinyl said, pulling out a letter, “She’s a friend of Rose’s too, and she needs to know what happened. I’d deliver it myself but I’m not a pegasus, and I want to make sure she gets it as soon as possible…”
“Hand it over,” said Derpy with determination on her face.
“Thank you, Derpy.”
“There’s a catch though,” Derpy said, staring into Vinyl’s shades. “You’d better not dare leave her side until I get back.”
“You’ve got it, Derpy.”
“What if none of the other colts and fillies like me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous Slant; of course they’ll like you!”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because we love you.”
“That’s not fair! You guys are my parents; you’re supposed to love me!”
“Doesn’t change the fact that we do, and we always will.”
The flight to Canterlot was rough but Derpy had motivation. She did not feel the cold wind as she flew, nor did she feel the ache of her wings from forcing them to travel as fast as she was traveling, or for as long a distance. All she could feel was anger that someone had hurt Rose as badly as they had, and fear that she would not be there by the time she got back.
Once in Canterlot it was easy enough to find the Concert Hall in which the Canterlot Orchestra was scheduled to perform. It was still early for the show, and therefore there were no lines and no security. Derpy went inside, spotting the cellist as she carried her instrument on stage.
“Octavia! I have a letter for you but we need to hurry!” yelled Derpy.
Octavia looked at her in confusion but took the letter regardless.
“Ditzy isn’t it?” asked Octavia. “I do believe we’ve met but only briefly. Is everything ok?”
“Just read the letter,” said Derpy, feeling anxious about not having left yet.
Octavia opened the letter and read it, eyes widening as she reached the bottom. The conductor of the orchestra called to her.
“Octavia, is everything alright?”
“No, it is not. I’m leaving for Ponyville on the next available train.”
“But you just came from Ponyville.”
“This time it’s an emergency,” she responded.
The young pegasus was being dragged along by his mother.
“I cannot believe you would run off like that, Slant.”
“I’m sorry I made you mad, Mommy.”
“Mad? I’m not mad, Slant. I’m upset. I turned around and you weren’t there anymore. I thought I lost you! Please promise me that you’ll stick with me from now on. Please?”
“Ok, Mommy.”
“Good. I don’t want to lose you.”
The train ride to Ponyville had been a long and silent journey indeed. Nopony ever took the late-night trains and Derpy had insisted on flying back to get there as fast as possible, so Octavia rode the train on her own with only her worries to keep her company.
As she slept on the train ride she had a nightmare of the day that Script disappeared from Canterlot. She would not fall asleep again until after she knew that Rose was ok.
The train arrived in Ponyville in the morning, with Octavia getting out and rushing to the hospital. This time there were no ponies waiting for her at the station, but she knew where to find them.
As she got to the hospital she immediately found Vinyl and approached her. The two embraced in a hug. There was no need for words. As she broke the hug, Octavia noticed tears dripping past the cover of Vinyl’s shades. She’d need to fix that too, but there was something she needed to do first. Stepping into the room, she relieved Pinkie from her post. She stared at her friend.
She had prepared for this image on the train. Vinyl’s letter had been really explicit as to what she could expect to see, and as such, she had prepared for this. And yet, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw. Tears fell freely down her face.
“No, you’re not allowed to leave me like this again,” she wept. “I already lost you once, I cannot lose you again.”
Rose was immobile and unconscious but Octavia continued.
“I know you prefer Rose now, but to me you will always be Script. The one that was there when I needed you. And I need you right now, Script. I need you to wake up, and smile, and make a dumb joke about how uptight I am or how I cannot play the cello. I need you to know that I forgive you for what happened, it wasn’t your fault. Any of it. I need you to know that even though I decided that I would never date you back in school, I never stopped loving you. I need you to know that I was being stupid and dumb and I’m sorry…”
Octavia’s voice cracked with the strain of fear and emotion.
“But more than anything, I need you to stay…” she sobbed. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“Dad, why do you care so much about belonging to the Rhyme family?”
“Huh, I thought you would know the answer to that already, Slant.”
“Well, I guess I do. It’s a noble family that’s been around since the start of Celestia’s reign, full of famous writers and prestige… But you bring it up all the time… is it really that important?”
His dad smiled.
“You missed the most important part of all, Slant.”
“What is it?”
“That it’s our family.”
The pegasus looked confused.
“Family is a special thing, Slant. Your family will always love you, they will always take care of you, they will fight for you, and they will be there for you with whatever you need. You can always rely on family. The reason that the Rhyme family is so important is because of the ponies in that family. It’s not about the titles; well, not completely. The majority is simply that I’m proud to be there for your mom, your brother, and you.”
“So family is who’s there when things are bad?”
“Family is who’s there when things are bad, and makes them better.”
Rose slowly opened her eyes, wincing at the bright light she saw. She was in a white room with a lot of machines, one of which was beeping. She was in a hospital.
“Perfect,” she thought to herself. She began to remember the incidents from her last conscious night, tears beginning to form. Then she looked down.
Surrounding her bed was a collection of eleven ponies, all of them asleep. Closest to her was Octavia, who was actually resting her head on the bed. Next to her were Vinyl and Derpy. Bon Bon and Lyra were sitting in the corner of the room with Bon Bon’s head resting on Lyra’s shoulder. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity were sleeping on the floor while Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash slept on a few cushions. They all looked like they were getting the first sleep they had gotten in ages and, if she was not mistaken, they all had tear stains on their cheeks.
“For however long I’ve been out,” Rose figured, “they were probably here by my side.”
She could not help but smile.
“Ow,” she said softly. “It hurts to smile.”
Octavia shivered as she woke up, turning her head to check on her friend, sitting up when she realized that the friend she was staring at was staring back.
Rose did not want to wake anypony in the hospital, and therefore was content to greet each pony as they woke up on their own time. This proved a good system until Pinkie woke up, at which point everyone else was woken up by the party pony.
Soon everypony gathered around, filling Rose in on what happened while she was unconscious. The story started with Rainbow Dash and Applejack following her on her date, for which she would be eternally grateful, and ended with Octavia arriving at the hospital, with each pony piping in whenever they came into the story.
“What about Granite?” Rose asked.
The room became instantly colder at the mention of his name.
“He’s been transferred to Canterlot where he will be tried by the Princesses themselves,” said Twilight.
“How much did you tell them about me,” asked Rose.
“Everything I’m afraid,” said Twilight. “I would’ve kept things to myself but you never know what detail might be important. I did tell them that you did not want any conflict with your family and would rather not have to go to Canterlot to testify. She promised to use what I told her in her private court and nowhere else, so you’re safe.”
“Yes, we’re just sorry you had to go through any of this at all,” said Lyra.
“I am too, but I feel like I learnt something. I just can’t figure out what it is,” said Rose. “Whatever it is though, it’s important.”
Twilight turned to Rose.
“I know it may seem silly, but one of the things that help me focus and work through things like that is when I write my letters to Celestia,” said Twilight, “It helps me glean what’s important and how I got there. You could always do something like that, even if you don’t send it.”
Rose smiled at Twilight.
“Thank you, Twi,” she said. “I think I’ll give it a try.”
Dear Princess Luna,
You may not know me, but my name is Evening Rose.
This is not my legal name, something which I’m working to change as soon as possible, so you won’t be able to find me in the registry. I could give you my old name, but it isn’t who I am, and I’d rather the real me be the one to write this letter. Besides, if I hear correctly, you and your sister did hear about me recently.
Twilight suggested that I write Princess Celestia a letter about some of the things I’ve learnt in Ponyville as a way to clear my thoughts. I like the idea but I’d rather write to you instead. Whenever I’ve been hurt, lonely, or scared, it’s been your nights in which I’ve found comfort. The stars, the moon, and a midnight breeze are pretty much my roommates by now from all the times I’ve turned to them for advice and reprieve, and as such, I feel like pouring my soul out to you is far more natural.
Before I tell you what I learnt though, I feel I should let you know a couple of things about me.
First, I moved to Ponyville during the summer, running away from my old city.
Second, I’m a big fan of your work.
Third, I’m a transpony.
That last one is probably one you don’t hear often, and I must confess that I don’t know if you and your sister have any thoughts on the matter, but based on Twilight and her friends, I’ll assume hope you don’t have any major problems.
As I said, I ran away from home because I wasn’t accepted as a transpony. The move was hard, and even when I arrived I had a hard time trusting ponies. Everyone seemed like a danger to me. However, slowly but surely, I have adapted and learnt a few things in the process.
The first thing I learnt is that there is boundless good and beauty in this world, but there is also boundless spite and hate. I’m currently writing from a hospital bed in which I’ll be for a few weeks before I’m transferred to another bed for a few months because of the latter. Still, it is important to remember that the bad doesn’t outweigh the good, or even match it.
It may seem like it does when you are facing your death at the hands of someone ignorant or hateful, but that’s because it’s in the moment. Outside of that moment I can see the countless ponies I’ve befriended, a community filled with ponies that may not understand but at least support somepony’s right to be happy. Sometimes one loses track of that, but it doesn’t mean it’s not there.
Now, that’s not to say things are not difficult; one bad thing may not outweigh all the good but depending on what it is, it can be the only thing that matters. It doesn’t even have to be some ultimate evil type scenario; most of the time it’s our own insecurities.
For example, I’m finding that it’s bothering me more and more that I don’t think I’ll be able to truly be a mare. I can’t change my body, and everyone I know knows me as trans. I’m no longer ashamed of being trans like I used to be, but it’s still not something I aspire to live as. I want to be known as a mare, not a transpony, and the despair I feel when I realize how impossible that journey is can often be insurmountable. To be honest, I’m not even sure I’ll get past it. I’m not sure I’ll be ok.
However, I have a great network of friends that have already and continue to push me onwards, and here’s where the other lesson I learnt kicks in.
I used to think that I lost my family when I left home, and that as many friends as I made, it would be a loss that I’d have to carry with me. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
My friends have proved in the past few days how much they’re willing to give of themselves for the ponies they care about. Regardless of how much distance there is or of any arguments there may be, friends will put it all aside when one needs them most, and that makes them family more so than blood relations or having the same last name.
“Family is who’s there when things are bad, and makes them better.”
I don’t remember who I heard say that but it rings true, and I have a very large family indeed.
Your faithful subject,
-Evening Rose
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Somepony give this pony a Pulitzer prize.
2251538
Yay
Gosh the first few paragraphs are hard to read through, that letter made me smile though.
These are probably the best trans-related FanFics I have read, keep them up! I can't wait for Arc 3! 
2252820
Hard how? Hard because of content or because of how they were written?
Also, thank you for the compliment
Arc 3 will be up on Wednesday along with the epilogue info thing for this one.
2252899 Content, those injuries were brutal.
When I first started reading this, I thought he was a super duper secret spy who was being chased down by griffons.
Now I'm like;
I really wanna hug you right now!
And one with the second arc!
These fics are getting better, the same criticisms I had for the first one still stands, but not to the same degree if that makes any sense?
You get extra credit for the final chapters and the small glimses we got from Rose's past, it was very touching.
And I'm off to read arc 3 woo!
yes, now Luna gets to have loyal subject lesson mail too. Hope Celestia don't get irate for this. Luna is better than Celestia anyways. I
this story!
Words can't express the emotions that I feel. Your words have touched me deeply. Thanks for sharing.
You can tell by my name that I love Luna, Luna is best princess. This story made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me want shoot someone, but more than anything it makes me want to be a better person.
I think Evening Rose learned a very valuable lesson through all of this. She has learned that even in the darkness, there is always a spot of light. Rose is an amazing person, and despite her heritage, she has amazing friends. As Stitch once said "ohana means family, family means no one gets left behind, or forgotten."
My prediction for Arc 3 is that her brother is a supporter (Octavia said he had detached from everything after Rose left) and that's why he has to go back to Canterlot, no one gets left behind or forgotten. I give this story a 4 out of 5 (only because I didn't like the chapter with BonBon and Lyra).
If you were able to hear it, and if it wouldn't wake up my family, I'd be applauding harder now that I've ever done before. Beautiful! I especially love the way you inserted little flash backs to show what she'd sort of lost, but could, and did, regain.
Also, I know it's not relevant, and I'm taking it out of context, but this one short sentence hit closer to home than any other for how I often feel:
I just barely read the first section of this chapter and it definitely hits hard. Back to the story.
What sucks is this is a story getting me emotionally attached. I'm really enjoying it.
I was really hoping that granite was going to be good for her. I actually believed he would be, but as I got closer to the situation revolving him, I started becoming aware that I actually had no idea if he knew or not. It really pissed me off... A lot...
I am also hoping she sent the letter to Luna.
I really wanted to say, along with the many other things, that I really do like your writing. Especially the introductions to a lot of these chapters to set the mood for them. I read the epilogue, came back to comment this, and now on to the next story.
Somepony needs a hug
Fuckin liar!
So many tears! I've a love-hate relationship with scenes where something good seems to happen but then the other boot drops and it just AAAHHHHHH!! It's 5 am, I have to sleep, guess I'll read the next arc tomorrow.
I'm terrified to think about how Rose's little brother may be faring. The revelation that she has any siblings is such an unexpected twist of fridge horror, especially considering what her parents are willing to do to her. It's such a shame that ponies like AJ and Octavia only began to understand how terrible things were for Rose when she could have possibly lost her life. That has to be one of the most grueling, realistic parts of this. So many people likely find themselves in the same position, but the worst has me wondering... how many people never got to take those steps toward reconciliation because their trans friends were killed or took their own life? Trans people don't exist in a bubble, and it really has you wondering how many people out there were friends or knew people like Leelah Alcorn (and other similar figures) and are left with that void because their friend is gone, and they never got to say anything?